Rebel Without a Cause
The Archive The Pages Annotated Bibliography Barker, John. "Rebel Without a Cause." Cinetext. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2013. This article by Jay Barker analyzes Rebel Without A Cause and its relationship to today's modern world affected by meaningless outbursts of violence. He claims that it is in the school sphere that screenwriter Stewart Stern creates his most interesting insight into American teenage life. The film’s coverage of juvenile delinquency is irrelevant to teenagers today. The author also states that while the story may have intrigued at the time the characterizations are broad but not defined. He concludes that the film has aged poorly. The issues of teenage rebellion stand true today, but not the actions that the characters portray in this film. The film suffers from a debilitating lack of entertainment value because of this. (Albert) Kashner, Sam. "Dangerous Talents." Vanity Fair. N.p., Mar. 2005. Web. 20 Mar. 2013. When James Dean’s Porsche Spyder crashed 50 years ago, killing the actor just before the premiere of Rebel Without a Cause, his legend was sealed. But the director who gave Dean that immortal role, Nicholas Ray, has been virtually forgotten. Examining Ray’s genius, his loves, and the addictions that ruined him, Sam Kashner recaptures the dramas behind Rebel Without a Cause, as well as the bond shattered by Dean’s death. (Grant) Biskind, Peter. JSTOR. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2013. Through several researches and many sources, the University of California Press wrote this article to articulate the film A Rebel Without a Cause. This article focuses on Nicholas Ray in the Fifties. The film came out in 1995 and was popular and named as a “must see” of the century. The article points out that in the movie, teenager everyday life problems are confronted. There is a climax to the film that leaves the viewer curious and quite anxious. Family, drugs, enemies, friends, peer pressure, bullying, and love all in a matter of an hour and a half. Today these problems are faced and handled in a different way but the problems are still there. Its fascinating to see how in the 50’s a movie can do an amazing job of explaining the scenarios that occur and how the characters go about handling them. (Dana Rose Grassi) 'Callahan, Dan. "Rebel Without a Cause." ''Slant Magazine. ''N.p., 23 May 2005. Web. 13 March 2013.' In this critical analysis by Dan Callahan, he makes the bold statement that "Rebel Without a Cause" may be one of the greatest James Dean films. He evaluates the theme of a rebel in the movie and how a rebel can never fit into society and have a normal dating relationship. James Dean, as an actor, explored a more sensitive role in this film other than the hardened, sarcastic persona he previously had. James Dean's character takes care of Plato, who was the so called school loser, showing he has a compassionate side to him and never cares about what others think or say. Callahan also points out the colors of red and blue, which signify good and the heroes. James Dean wore his famous red jacket for the car race scene and from that point on in the film signifying the important change in the character. Callahan then elaborates on the bisexual rumors of James Dean and director Nicholas Ray and their sexual relations with the actors in the making of the film. (John-Luke) Dayoub, Tony. "Cinema Viewfinder: Rebel Without a Cause (1955): The Synergy Between Nicholas Ray and James Dean." Cinema Viewfinder: Rebel Without a Cause (1955): The Synergy Between Nicholas Ray and James Dean. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2013 This article talks about and compares James Dean and the director, Nicholas Ray. Ray wanted Dean to play the role, that he did everything in his power to give Dean the role. Dean spent alot of time with Ray while filming the movie. In a way, Ray took the role of Dean's father figure since Dean did not have a father in his life. Rebel Without a Cause is entirely shot from the teenager's point of view. The parent's only play side roles in the teenager's lifes, and have little effect on the teenager's wreckless and wild behaivors. (Faith) Ebert, Roger. "Rebel Without a Cause." RSS. Chicago-Sun Times, 19 June 2005. Web. 14 Mar. 2013. In Ebert’s review he explains how the film Rebel Without a Cause has not aged well but through the tragic death of the films star, James Dean, a month before the movie opened has resulted in a legendary reaction. Ebert explains how Rebel Without a Cause was enormously influential at the time, a milestone in the creation of new ideas about young people such as Marlo Bando, James Dean, and Elvis Presley, three role models that decisively altered the way young men could be seen in popular culture showing they could be more feminine, sexier, more confused, more ambiguous. Ebert adds that the movie's key point is that Jim is confused and angry at the world and his family but he is denied a main reason for his discontent. Jim’s his unfocused rage fit neatly into pop psychology on the time. Hamlet focuses on Jim’s relationship with his father and how it is like Hamlet's disgust at his mother's betrayal of his father, Jim's feelings mask a deeper malaise, a feeling that life is a pointless choice between being and not being. Ebert emphasizes how the film is a form of existentialism in which characters with bizarre problems perform a charade of normal behavior. Ebert concludes that the whole of Rebel Without a Cause is that the kids desperately wants to say something but do not know what it is. But hat is the purpose, id they knew then the film would lose its fascination. (Peyton) - - - . Rebel Without a Cause was made famous unfortunately by James Dean’s death according to Roger Ebert. What are the chances of Dean dying in a car accident a month before his movie released, a movie based around a car crash. Despite this tragedy, Rebel Without a Cause had a large influence on teenage culture comparable to Elvis Presley. Ebert said it allowed young men in this time period to “be more feminine, sexier, more confused, more ambiguous” (Ebert). There seems to be a role reversal between the mother and father in the Stark household that largely influences Jim Stark’s behavior. Mrs. Stark controls her husband and Jim sees his father as a very weak man. He finds his father in one scene wearing a flowery apron over his suit while he cleans. Clearly Jim Stark is confused, but so are the rest of the teenagers. The bully Buzz for example, tells Stark he likes him right before the race; however, when Stark asks why they race, Buzz can’t give a reasonable answer. This shows that he is just as confused and disturbed as Stark. (Chris) Osenlund, R. Kurt. "Rebel Without a Cause | Film Review | Slant Magazine." Slant Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2013. . ' ' This article talks about how this movie was one of James Dean’s best film and best performance. In the movie James Dean’s character James Starks is plainly struggling under a load of heightened sensitivity, which is why the 50’s contentment of his parents and their situation, in his words, are “tearing him apart.” James Starks wants to be a man, and he hates when his peers call him chicken. He realizes that the test of manhood he is forced to endure by the thugs at his school, as false in their ways as the world of his parents. Jim and his friends Judy and Plato take over a deserted mansion and try to make a family themselves. (Sean Russell)